The effects of educational placement and grade level on the self-perceptions of low achievers and students with learning disabilities.

R. Butler*, D. Marinov-Glassman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous studies have yielded mixed findings as to the effect of learning disabilities (LD) on self-perception. We proposed that perceived competence in children who experience learning difficulties is affected both by age trends in self-appraisal processes and by the degree to which students' salient reference group is composed primarily of similar or more competent others. Measures of perceived competence (Harter, 1982) and perceived achievement were administered to 222 Israeli students (127 boys, 95 girls) in Grades 3, 5, and 7. The sample comprised 68 children with LD attending special schools, 68 children with LD attending special classes in regular schools, and 86 nonidentified low achievers in regular classes. As expected, perceived competence was similar and high in all groups at Grade 3, but was higher among the special school group than among the special class and low achieving groups at Grade 5. The benefits of special schools were less clear at Grade 7. Implications for research methodology and educational practice are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)325-334
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Learning Disabilities
Volume27
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1994

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